173 A study on skin properties related to chronic psychological stress

Abstract

These days many people live under a lot of stress in everyday life. According to many studies, chronic or long-term stress has bad effects on health. Several studies have founded that the skin barrier function is weakened by stress. However, few studies have shown how stress affects the skin except skin barrier. The objective of this study is to determine skin properties related on chronic stress. Three surveys confirming stress were conducted on 60 women in their age 40s. (Three surveys : Korean-translated Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument (BEPSI-K), Cognitive Stress Response Scale (CSRS), Stress Questionnaire for Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES): short form) The subjects were identified the two groups by three survey responses. A clinical research was conducted on 28 subjects (stress group N=14, non-stress group N=14) who agree to experimentation. The measurement parameters were hydration, skin color, elasticity, trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), gloss, transparency, wrinkles. The statistical significance was determined at P < 0.05. The elasticity and skin brightness (L value, V value) of non-stress group are significantly higher than stress group. And the pores area and transparency of non-stress group are lower than stress group. The hydration, TEWL and wrinkles have no significant differences between stress group and non-stress group. We examined the beauty habits and lifestyles through the survey. The stress group responded that they have more sleep disorder than the non-stress group significantly. There was no difference in beauty habits between the stress group and non-stress group except sleep disorder. In conclusion, psychological stress affects the skin especially affects skin color, elasticity, pores, and transparency. These differences were not due to beauty habits.